The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) categorically rejected the judicial resolution that obliges Enrique Graue and Fernando Macedo to pay a fine of 15 million pesos. The sanction was imposed following a lawsuit by advisor Martha Rodríguez Ortiz, linked to the thesis plagiarism case of Minister Yasmín Esquivel Mossa.
The institution described the ruling as an "unacceptable intrusion" into its autonomy.
The University Council warned that the judicial apparatus was used to intimidate officials who only applied the regulations. The decision was made by Judge Flor de María Hernández of the CDMX Judiciary, amid growing suspicions of political protection for the minister.
UNAM under scrutiny for punishing plagiarism
The scandal broke out in 2022 when it was revealed that Yasmín Esquivel's undergraduate thesis was a substantial copy of another published a year earlier. Both theses were advised by Martha Rodríguez, who was dismissed in 2023 by FES Aragón.
The university documented the plagiarism, but the sanction ended up directed against those who reported it.
